Dope O' Mine

Something very interesting popped up in my searchbot results the other day. Most of us know dopamine as a neurotransmitter, the lack of which is the reason for the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. Dopamine also exerts a potent immunoregulatory effect. Two new studies provide a new look at dopamine, and suggest that immune cells can create and secrete their own dopamine which can then interact with the immune cells' own dopamine receptors to influence those same cells' behavior.

According to an article on the two studies, "...dopamine signaling and metabolites can also serve as a communication interface between the central nervous system and immune system, and that communication can work in both directions. Lymphocytes that can pass the blood brain barrier can be "educated" by locally secreted neurotransmitters, including dopamine. Then they transmit brain-driven messages to other cells of the immune system via direct or indirect pathways."
 
What really intrigued me about this is the direct cross-communication between the immune and nervous systems. Neuroinflammation is a major part of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and ALS. Many attempts to decrease the inflammatory attack with general anti-inflammatory drugs. New trials with drugs such as NP001, Gilenya, and Actemra seek to try more powerful and specific pathways to tamp inflammation. However, with more research along the dopamine communication route, much more direct and powerful therapies can be developed for neurodegenerative disease. According to commentary on one of the studies, ""We suggest that the function of paracrine/autocrine (P/A) circuits is to maintain tissue viability in emergency situations, when no other regulators are available. Local P/A circuits are the key to healing and recovery."